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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress 1 50 ¢ C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper www.thecolumbiapress.com June 15, 2018 Vol. 2, Issue 24 Coyote comfort A coyote searches for a resting place among the gravestones at Ocean View Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon. While listed as a predatory species by state Fish and Wildlife, they are general- ly wary and shy around humans. Coy- otes do like rodents and geese. Small cats and dogs also could be targets. Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press City continues attempts to clean major streets The Columbia Press City officials continued to wage war against blight with owners of 10 prop- erties along the city’s main thorough- fares being tagged or given notices for allowing a nuisance to exist. Two of the properties are across from City Hall, four more are along South Main Avenue in the 400, 600 and 700 blocks. Other properties are on Northwest Warrenton Drive, Alternate Highway 101 and East Harbor Drive. “I don’t think we’ve ever had so many nuisances on the docket,” May- or Henry Balensifer said in reviewing the list Tuesday night. City Manager Linda Engbretson, who has been a city employee for 22 years, said she had never seen so many all at once in her time with the city. Cleaning up the main entryways is high on the list of goals for the City Commission this year. Forcing people to take action isn’t always easy, but there have been some successes. A crumbling blue two-story wooden house on Harbor Drive, long an eye- sore on the main route to Fort Ste- vens and other tourist destinations, was bulldozed last month. The former gas station across from City Hall has undergone an extensive cleanup, yet a June 4 inspection re- vealed one nonworking vehicle and many abandoned lawnmowers still litter the property. They were tagged for removal, which may be done at the city’s ex- pense. The city would then place a lien on the property so it could recoup its money when the property sells. In the past 30 days: • Five nonworking vehicles were tagged with cleanup notices at 228 S. Main Ave., • Five junk cars were tagged at 1060 N.W. Warrenton Drive, • A building at 726 E. Harbor Drive was tagged for tall grass and trash, • A deteriorating building at 925 E. Harbor was issued a cleanup notice for the building and grass. • A property at 485 N. Main was tagged for trash and tall grass. • A property at 613 S. Main was in- spected for building issues. • A property at 615 S. Main was tagged for problems with a fence. • A property at 719 S. Main was tagged for having junk and junk cars in the front yard. • A property at 1339 N.W. Warren- ton Drive was cited for having junk, tall grass, a trailer and other issues. There are eight enforcement steps See ‘Blight’ on Page 3 School district eyes three properties B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press The school district has narrowed its search for property on which it would build a new multi-school compound to three properties, all of them on the southeast side of Highway 101. “There are only three parcels that would work, within reason, and we an- ticipate within the next two weeks to have that process complete,” said Mark Jeffery, superintendent of the Warren- ton-Hammond School District. Choosing one and having a bid ac- cepted is vital to the district’s plans to place a bond measure on the Novem- ber ballot. “Everything’s kind of waiting on the land,” Jeffery said. “The land will drive the cost.” The first site is in the North Coast Business Park and is owned by Clat- sop County. It has some wetlands is- sue and, since it’s currently zoned for industrial uses, the county may not be interested in selling. The second site is on airport hill off Highway 101 Business and Airport Lane near Trails End Recovery. The property is owned by Nygaard Land and Warrenton Fiber. It is just outside Warrenton’s ur- ban growth boundary (land expected to eventually annex into the city) and technically inside the Astoria School District’s boundary. The third site is on Southeast Dol- phin Avenue and also is owned by War- renton Fiber and Nygaard Land. Three tax lots would be combined in order to have enough land for an elementary, middle school and high school campus. A decision on one of the properties is planned for the school board’s June 26 meeting.